5OMJ   ASSURANCES 


IMMORTALITY 


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JOHN  B.R  BERRY 


GIFT  OF 


Some  Hssurancea 

of 

Ifmmortalits 

By  John  B.  N.  Berry 


R.  F.  FENNO  &  COMPANY 

18  EAST  17TH  ST.  NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT  1909 

BY 
JOHN  B.  N.  BERRY 


Immortality 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Who  and  What  is  God? 9 

Where  is  the  Soul  ? 15 

Man's   Immortality    19 

Spiritism 27 

Materialization 40 

Faith ., 46 

Intuition   and   Conscience 52 

Prayer 56 

Love 61 

Trust— Hope 65 


303979 


Some  Assurances  of   Immortality. 


WHO  AND  WHAT  IS  GOD? 

All  men  accede  to  the  proposition  that  there 
must  have  been  a  first  cause,  but  many  deny 
that  personality  was  a  concomitant  of  the  first 
cause.  Some  take  an  agnostic  position;  not  a 
few  have  some  conception  of  God,  but  refuse 
to  wrap  Him  up  in  a  word  or  superinscribe  him 
with  anything  likened  unto  an  anthropomorphic 
form. 

Before  we  should  formulate  an  opinion,  or 
reach  a  conclusion,  we  must  have  a  concept  of 
the  subject  and  work  out  the  proposition  to  its 
logical  conclusion.  In  facing  this  question  of 
the  first  cause,  as  both  judge  and  jury,  we  must 
decide  for  ourselves  alone  the  verdict  that  is  to 
make  us  heirs  of  immortality,  or  the  flotsam 
and  jetsam  of  matter  and  chance. 
9 


19         flc.ms  Aas'iranoes  of  Immortality 

Whilst  some  of  the  old  biblical  characters 
state  they  had  seen  God : — Jacob, — "I  have  seen 
God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is  preserved:'7 
Isaiah, — "For  my  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the 
Lord  of  hosts,"  yet  St.  John  says,  "No  man 
hath  seen  God  at  any  time:  the  only  begotten 
Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
hath  declared  him":  and  Christ,  talking  to 
Philip,  when  Philip  said  unto  him, — "Lord, 
show  us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us,"  an- 
swered,— "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father,"  thus  epitomizing  all  we  have  that  is 
authentically  given  us  concerning  the  person- 
ality of  God, — for  I  propose  to  demonstrate  the 
first  cause  to  be  God, — a  personage. 

Our  mental  unfolding  will  not  admit  of 
adoration  and  submission  to  a  vague  attenua- 
tion of  an  all-pervading  essence;  it  is  too  un- 
graspable  for  our  powers ;  less  concrete  than  the 
most  diaphanous  of  our  hallucinations!  We 
must  have  Infinite  Power,  Absolute  Mind,  All 
Pervading  Influence  to  win  the  surrender  of 
<our  wills,  the  abnegation  of  all  that  the  human 
suggests,  so  as  to  be  in  accord  with  the  God- 
voice  within  us. 

It  is  more  rational,  indeed,  it  is  easier  to  be- 


Who  and  What  is  God?  11 

lieve  in  a  personal  God  than  to  give  sanction  to 
any  such  idea  as — all  things  are  but  the  product 
of — nothing.  The  mind  that  postulates  thus 
may  be  said  to  be  awry  with  presumptuousness. 
Though  we  may  not  know,  with  a  know-ledge 
that  is  demonstrable,  yet  we  can  know  with  an 
understanding  as  sure  to  us  as  anything  we  must 
accept  because  of  its  logical  deducement. 

Agnosticism  is  stupidity,  in  its  final  analysis ; 
and  stupidity  separates  us  from  all  that  uplifts 
and  ennobles.  Decision  for  or  against,  on  one 
side  or  another,  we  must  make,  if  we  would  ful- 
fil the  law  of  our  being;  otherwise  wre  are  a 
species  of  human  vacuum — abhorred  by  nature. 

Deny  God  if  we  choose!  for  being  a  free 
agent  that  is  our  prerogative !  But  no  rational 
creature  wishes  to  deny  God  from  pure  contrari- 
ness. It  is  because  of  the  lack  of  mental  illumi- 
nation— of  spiritual  discernment — that  the 
mind  does  not  find  its  bent  in  contemplating 
the  higher  and  more  ennobling  things  of  life. 
Yet,  sooner  or  later,  we  must  approach  the  end, 
— our  thoughts  must  turn  to  the  beyond,  and 
God  obtrudes.  'Tis  then  we  want  our  question 
answered — Who  and  What  is  God  ? 

If  He  is  only  an  all-pervading  spirit,  or  es- 


12         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

sence,  we  are  not  drawn  to  the  Heavens,  death 
has  not  lost  its  horrors ;  but  if  God  is  our  Heav- 
enly Father,  a  personal  intelligence,  then  we 
can  give  ourselves  to  Him,  trust  to  His  love,  and 
accept  Christ  as  our  Saviour;  for  we  are  then 
bound  to  Him  by  our  Soul's  intelligence  and 
yearnings. 

How  important  then  is  it  to  have  this  ques- 
tion of  the  personality  of  God  determined  in 
our  minds,  so  that  our  doubts  and  fears  may  be 
hushed  and  we  be  brought  in  harmony  with 
Him,  to  the  end  that  we  may  be  developed  spir- 
itually to  be  worthy  of  that  eternal  life  prom- 
ised by  the  Saviour  to  all  who  have  faith  in, 
and  confess  Him  before  men ! 

To  know  God  is  so  easy — it  is  appalling  that 
we  know  Him  to  such  a  limited  degree,  in  such 
a  vague  sense ! 

If  we  are  ignorant  of  our  mathematics,  we 
can  never  be  sure  of  our  sums;  understand  it, 
and  we  will  work  out  the  right  answer  to  our 
arithmetical  problem  without  fear  of  contradic- 
tion. So  understand  God  and  our  doubts  van- 
ish, and  we  will  be  able  to  abide  in  faith  and 
trust,  through  all  the  involved  scientific  specu- 


Who  and  What  is  God?  13 

lations  that  may  be  offered  to  perplex  and  annoy 
our  minds  and  souls. 

Apart  from  the  assurances  given  us  by  the 
one  altogether  perfect  Being — that  there  is  a 
place  called  Heaven,  a  creator,  God; — who  is 
our  Father;  that  He  has  numbered  the  hairs  of 
our  heads,  and  loves  us,  careth  for  us, — assur- 
ances that  cannot  and  should  not  be  gainsaid  by 
any  man,  no  matter  what  his  mental  illumina- 
tion may  be  (so  long  as  Christ  is  not  proven  the 
blasphemer  the  Jews  asserted  Him  to  be,) — we 
can  have  the  supplementing  endorsement  of  our 
own  intelligence,  an  endorsement  we  realize  as 
a  prime  factor  in  all  our  acts !  if  we  but  just  see 
the  reasonableness,  the  simplicity  of  the  logic 
which  proves  conclusively  there  is — must,  in- 
deed be — a  personal  God. 

When  we  behold  the  earth,  and  the  planets  of 
space,  we  know  beyond  a  peradventure  that  this 
earth  and  these  planets  strewing  our  horizon, 
are  real,  not  imagined.  As  we  contemplate  wre 
realize  that  this  earth  and  these  planets  arc  the 
effect  of  some  cause.  Again,  we  understand  that 
the  cause  producing  this  earth  and  the  planets 
about  us,  is,  in  itself,  but  an  effect  of  some 


14         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

other  cause ;  and  thus,  to  oblige  the  evolutionists, 
we  get  back  to  the  primal  cause,  where  all  are 
agreed.  To  conceive  this  primal  cause  to  be 
God, — and  a  personal  God, — let  us  view  this 
earth  and  these  planets,  for  another  purpose. 

We  know — as  well  as  we  can  know  anything 
— that  these  are  governed  by  laws,  for  some  of 
these  laws  are  partially  comprehended  by  us. 
This  granted, — and  who  will  doubt  it? — how 
can  we  suppose  law  without  presupposing  intelli- 
gence? or  supposing  intelligence  without  pre- 
supposing personality  ? 

This  earth — and  all  upon  it;  the  planets 
circling  in  space,  had  a  cause,  of  which  these 
are  but  the  effect :  and  this  first  cause — the  Cre- 
ator— we  can  understand,  as  readily  as  we  can 
that  two  and  two  make  four,  is  God;  and  this 
God  must  have  personality  because  He  is  intelli- 
gence, and  there  is  no  intelligence  apart  from 
personality. 

The  first  cause — God,  our  Father  in  Heaven, 
without  beginning,  Omniscient — Omnipotent — 
Omnipresent,  because  He  is  infinite,  gives  us 
eternal  life — if  we  trust  and  love  Him,  by  giv- 
ing our  faith  to  His  only  begotten  Son. 


Where  is  the  Soul?  15 


WHEKE  IS  THE  SOUL? 

The  lexicographic  definition  of  the  soul  is  the 
spiritual,  rational  and  immortal  substance  in 
man,  which  distinguishes  him  from  brutes ;  that 
part  which  enables  him  to  think  and  reason,  and 
which  renders  him  a  subject  of  moral  govern- 
ment. But  where  is  the  soul  located?  Is  it  a 
"substance?"  as  the  definition  states,  and  how 
does  it  render  man  a  subject  of  moral  govern- 
ment? 

We  hear  the  word  spoken  without  any  thought 
to  grasp  its  true  significance,  simply  taking  it 
to  mean  that  part  of  our  entity  which  alone  sur- 
vives the  dissolution  of  the  corporeal  by  the 
processes  inaugurated  by  death. 

We  do  not  know  where  the  soul  is  located,  nor 
of  what  it  is  composed ;  but  that  we  possess  the 
element  we  call  the  soul  most  men  of  all  types 
and  climes  accede  to. 

If  we  possess  this  soul,  how  can  we  reconcile 
this  fact  with  the  other  fact  that  no  man  ever 


16        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

has  seen  it?  All  other  parts  of  the  human 
have  been  laid  bare  by  the  scalpel,  made  evident 
by  the  senses,  demonstrated  by  the  faculties,  but 
this  soul  of  ours  escapes  our  senses  and  faculties, 
since  it  has  neither  form,  visibility,  or  palpabil- 
ity. The  subtle  emanations  of  flowers  we  per- 
ceive; the  indefinable  charm  of  beauty  so  im- 
pinges upon  our  susceptibility  that  we  are 
swayed  by  it ;  the  potency  of  melody  thrills  us ; 
all  these  subtleties  are  within  the  boundaries  of 
our  understanding,  but  the  soul  escapes  all  our 
powers  to  grasp  its  nature  or  comprehend  its 
character.  The  infinitesimal  infusoria,  num- 
bers of  which  will  scarcely  cover  the  point  of 
a  pin,  each  with  shell  of  beautiful  and  varying 
form ;  the  tiny  drop  of  water,  a  world  of  animal 
existence,  man  explores  and  demonstrates; 
nothing  material,  seemingly,  is  beyond  the 
grasp  of  his  powers  to  apprehend,  and,  to  a  de- 
gree, comprehend;  but  before  the  soul  man  can 
only  stand  mute  and  yield  his  recognition 
through  faith. 

It  is  that  something  which  is  the  vital  force, 
the  living  principle,  cognizable  in  our  thoughts, 
but  eluding  the  definiteness  of  expression.  It 
is  not  breath  or  breathing,  for  we  know  the 


Where  is  the  Soul?  17 

dynamics  of  this  function ;  it  is  a  something  in 
us,  writ  large  in  our  inner  consciousness ;  some- 
thing altogether  august  in  us,  realized  by  our 
superconsciousness  through  the  potency  exer- 
cised upon  us  by  the  inner  self;  an  essence  of 
our  being  as  is  the  fragrance  to  the  flower  or 
the  flavor  to  the  fruit;  a  something  that  domi- 
nates us  and  is  beyond  the  power  of  analysis, 
superior  to  our  purely  human  self,  the  fragrance 
and  flavor  of  our  nature. 

As  we  can  know  nothing  other  than  we  have 
experienced,  so  the  accumulated  experiences  we 
gain  of  a  something  subtly-subtile  existing  in  us, 
tends  to  confirm  us  in  the  knowledge  of  a  power 
emanating  from  our  subtile-self  that  is  more 
than  and  superior  to,  the  purely  human. 

The  soul  if  having  its  seat  in  the  mind,  may 
be  the  medium  through  which  we  are  made  cog- 
nizable of  and  amenable  to  the  immutable  laws 
of  God.  The  mind,  the  will,  is  the  arbiter  of 
our  lives,  for  thoughts  and  desires,  the  creations 
of  the  mind,  are  capable  of  making  us  pure, 
true,  good,  or  impure  and  hurtful.  If  our 
thoughts,  creations,  desires  are  pure,  true,  good, 
then  just  as  we  strive  to  keep  them  so,  this 
subtile  power  within  us  advances  them  higher 


18        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

and  makes  us  better,  adding  so  much  more  of 
an  exquisite  sense  of  happiness  that  we  have  a 
realization  of  a  higher  existence.  If  the  mind 
forms  impure,  hurtful  thoughts,  there  is  evi- 
dence, esoteric  as  well  as  exoteric,  that  "adder's 
poison  is  under  our  lips." 

Another  element  of  the  soul's  existence  is 
what  we  know  as  conscience,  the  voice  of  the 
soul,  the  judge  of  our  thoughts,  words,  deeds — 
God's  voice  within  us. 


Mans  Immortality  21 

less,  indeed,  he  be  attuned  to  those  spiritual 
vortex  waves  which  ever  and  anon  draw  our 
thoughts  God-ward.  One  has  to  be  of  exceed- 
ingly fine  fiber  to  be  able  to  realize  the  delicate 
cords  the  infinite  fingers  play  upon  in  making 
celestial  music  in  our  discordant  human  na- 
tures, though  sometimes  we  do  find  a  rare  na- 
ture attuned  to  the  purposes  of  the  Deity,  even 
though  rudely  incased.  But  such  is  the  stub- 
born self-assertiveness  of  the  purely  human, 
comprehension  is  difficult  of  those  more  delicate 
whisperings  from  heavenly  spheres. 

These  rare  souls  of  earth  sometimes  catch  mel- 
odies duller  ears  are  sealed  to;  and  even  to  the 
duller  ears,  at  times,  the  chimes  of  heaven  are 
faintly  heard,  demonstrating  that  there  is 
within  us  a  higher  self  that  perceives  things  un- 
knowable to  our  normal  self. 

!N~o  mortal  mind  ever  conceived  of  a  thing 
non-existent.  It  is  not  an  attribute  of  the  finite 
to  create.  The  best  we  can  do  is  to  be  so  re- 
sponsive to  the  influences  emanating  from  the 
Infinite  as  to  place  ourselves  in  harmony 
therewith  and  give  forth  as  reflective  evidence, 
the  swayings  of  our  inner  subtler  self.  Radium 
existed  from  the  beginning,  but  only  one  found 


22        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

it,  and  that  after  thousands  of  years  had 
elapsed;  and  though  but  few  of  us  have  seen 
it,  and  very  few  of  the  few  who  have  seen  it  are 
able  to  comprehend  it,  none  now  may  deny  its 
existence.  The  mind  of  man  is  so  cramped  it 
expands  slowly,  but  it  is  absorbent  and  takes  up 
that  which  has  been  proven  is.: 

To  state  the  proposition  that  a  bit  of  sub- 
stance, one  quarter  of  an  inch  square,  will  fill 
a  space  16  feet  by  16  feet  by  10  feet,  equiv- 
alent to  4,423,680  cubic  inches,  without  dimin- 
ishing itself,  would  be  denied  by  those  of  more 
than  the  average  intelligence ;  yet,  if  illustrated 
or  explained  by  the  bit  of  musk  maintaining  its 
bulk  while  filling  the  space  with  its  particles,  the 
problem  is  grasped,  comprehended,  accepted. 
So,  if  we  but  realize  that  no  mortal  mind  could 
have  originated  the  idea  of  the  spirit's  return  to 
its  former  earthly  habitation,  we  begin  to  under- 
stand that  the  many  evidences  vouchsafed  us 
must  be  based  upon  an  infinite  principle,  that 
will  become  cognizable  to  us  if  we  contemplate 
the  spirit  power  as  we  do  the  subtler  emanations 
from  mere  material  things. 

In  the  average  man  may  be  reflections  of  the 
likeness  of  God.  The  more  he  considers  the 


Mans  Immortality  23 

higher  nature  he  perceives  is  within  him,  the 
truer  reflection  will  he  gain  from  the  mirror  of 
his  soul,  of  that  higher  and  truer  self  that  is 
God-given,  and  the  more  this  introspection  is 
cultivated  the  more  readily  will  he  perceive  of 
the  things  which  before  were  but  as  objects  to 
the  blind. 

The  evidences  of  the  spirit's  return  have  been 
sufficiently  shown  to  prove  that  it  cannot  be 
blotted  from  the  records  by  the  refusal  to  ac- 
cept it  by  those  who  do  not  care  enough  about 
it  to  give  it  their  meditations  and  investiga- 
tions. 

If  the  question  is  sincerely  studied  it  may  be- 
come a  Jacob's  ladder,  stretching  to  Heaven,  by 
means  of  which  we  may  approach  the  realms 
now  hidden  from  our  ken. 

That  we  may  have  unto  ourselves  the  more 
visual  communion  with  the  realms  of  the  post- 
mortal  state,  we  must  understand,  as  far  as 
knowledge  can  be  obtained,  the  philosophy  as 
well  as  the  science  concerning  the  spirits  of 
those  who  were  on  earth,  if  the  comforting  solace 
of  a  belief  in  spirit  nature  is  to  be  ours. 

While  we  may  not  know,  we  can  gain  a  belief 
that  will  be  the  vestibule  of  knowledge. 


24         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

The  mind,  looking  back  into  the  inexplorablc 
vastness  of  the  past,  or  upward  or  forward  to 
the  unimaginable  extent  and  unfathomableness 
of  eternity,  when  it  takes  in  the  spaces  of  the 
universe,  the  innumerable  worlds  which  are  dis- 
persed in  every  direction  through  the  immeasur- 
able tracts  of  creation,  and  consider  that  our  ex- 
istence "may  run  parallel  with  interminable 
ages,"  and  that  in  the  revolutions  of  eternity  we 
may  exist  in  regions  of  space  inconceivably  dis- 
tant from  our  present  habitation,  associate  with 
orders  of  intelligible  beings,  and  pass  through 
new  scenes  and  changes  in  distant  worlds,  should 
we  believe  these  mental  conceptions  are  but 
products  of  our  limited  faculties,  or  that  they 
come  to  us  as  unfoldings  of  Omnipotence, 
through  the  comprehension  of  and  harmony 
with  some  of  His  laws !  The  beginning  of  time 
is  beyond  the  power  of  our  imagination  to  con- 
ceive of,  though  we  can  project  our  thoughts 
from  earth  to  the  sun,  and  comprehend  that  it 
is  equal  to  thirteen  hundred  thousands  of  the 
size  of  the  earth.  We  can  look  at  the  planet 
Jupiter,  490,000,000  miles  distant;  then  to 
Saturn,  900,000,000  miles  away,  and  yet  have 
but  a  faint  conception  of  the  extent  of  creation 


Man's  Immortality  25 

or  how  numerous  the  worlds  which  exist  within 
the  limitless  range ;  still  less  can  we  conceive  of 
the  power  and  intelligence  of  that  Being  who 
called  all  these  things  from  nothing  into  exist- 
ence. 

The  contemplation  of  these  mighty  works  of 
Omnipotence  convinces  us  of  the  infinite  source 
of  varied  felicity  which  He  has  in  His  power 
to  communicate  to  body-intelligences,  to  enliven 
our  hopes  of  splendors  of  that  "exceeding  great 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory"  which  will  burst 
upon  spirits  of  good  men  when  they  pass  to 
regions  of  immortality ;  and  induce  us  to  aspire, 
with  a  more  lively  ardor,  after  that  heavenly 
world  "where  glories  of  the  Deity  and  the  mag- 
nificence of  His  works  will  be  more  clearly  un- 
folded." 

Astronomy  tells  us  that  the  space  which  sur- 
rounds the  utmost  limit  of  our  system,  extend- 
ing in  every  direction  to  the  nearest  fixed  star, 
is  at  least  40,000,000,000,000  miles  in  diame- 
ter; and  it  is  highly  probable  that  every  star  is 
surrounded  by  space  of  equal  extent ;  that  bodies 
of  such  prodigious  distances  exert  a  mutual  in- 
fluence on  one  another ;  the  moon,  at  a  distance 
of  210,000  miles,  raises  tides  in  the  oceans  of 


26         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

the  earth  and  air  currents  in  the  atmosphere; 
the  sun,  at  a  distance  of  95,000,000  miles,  raises 
the  vapors,  moves  the  oceans,  directs  the  course 
of  the  winds,  fructifies  the  earth,  distributes 
light,  heat,  and  color  through  every  region  of  the 
globe.  Is  it  thinkable  that  such  manifestations 
of  the  Deity  are  irrelevant  to  the  eternal  welfare 
of  man  ? 

Reason,  conscience,  will,  the  powers  of  the 
soul,  constitute  the  spiritual  nature  of  man, 
enabling  him  to  choose  and  resolve  and  make  of 
him  a  responsible  being,  amenable  to  the  im- 
mutable laws. 

Matter  is  made  up  of  parts;  it  is  capable, 
from  its  nature,  of  being  decomposed  and  dis- 
solved. But  decomposition  and  dissolution  are 
not  destruction.  If  destructibility  does  not  fol- 
low divisibility  in  matter,  can  we  assume  de- 
structibility in  the  case  of  mind  ? 

Self-action  and  self-government  of  mind  exalt 
it  immeasurably  above  unconscious  matter.  Its 
intellectual,  and  especially  its  moral  powers,  its 
almost  unlimited  capacities,  and  its  lofty  aspira- 
tions, create  a  strong  presumption  that  it  is 
formed  for  a  higher  destiny  than  unconscious 
matter. 


Spiritism  27 


SPIRITISM. 

Do  spirits  return  after  the  death  of  the  hu- 
man, or  are  the  various  manifestations  of  ma- 
terializations but  shams  and  delusions?  are 
questions  we  cannot  exclude  from  consideration, 
no  matter  what  our  doctrinal  belief  may  be; 
and  notwithstanding  the  many  years  so-called 
spirit  manifestations  have  been  before  the  pub- 
lic in  the  character  of  exhibitions  for  gain,  the 
inquiring  mind  of  the  seeker  for  basic  truths  is 
as  much  in  quandary  as  ever,  because  so  in- 
volved have  been  the  manifestations,  seemingly 
clean  and  genuine,  with  those  that  OBVI- 
OUSLY WERE  THE  PRODUCT  OF 
CHARLATANISM. 

The  question  has  claimed  the  attention  and 
received  the  thought  of  profound  minds,  and 
many  volumes  have  been  written,  pro  and  con, 
on  the  subject,  with  but  little  of  a  determining 
character. 

After  the  Psychological  Research  Society  of 
England  had  pronounced  the  various  and 


28         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

strange  manifestations  of  Dr.  Slade,  tricks  and 
frauds,  and  for  winch  he  was  convicted  and 
imprisoned  on  the  charge  of  obtaining  money 
under  false  pretenses,  Zoellner,  in  his  Trans- 
cendental Physics,  staked  his  professional  repu- 
tation as  an  intelligent  and  honorable  man,  upon 
his  statement  that  Dr.  Slade,  did  not  perpetrate 
any  fraud  when  he  wrought  the  SAME  MANI- 
FESTATIONS before  Von  Hoffman,  Weber 
and  himself,  and  could  only  attribute  these  phe- 
nomena to  the  powers  of  a  fourth  dimension. 

Florence  Marryat,  in  "There  Is  No  Death," 
seemingly  proves  by  the  many  manifestations  of 
materializations  chronicled  in  that  book,  that 
such  a  sincere  and  intelligent  investigator  could 
not  be  gainsaid  in  her  conclusion  that  spirits  of 
the  departed  can  and  do  return  to  earth  and 
manifest  themselves;  whilst  Mr.  Truesdale,  a 
citizen  of  Syracuse,  K  Y.,  in  his  book,  "Bot- 
tom Facts,"  describing  the  various  wonderful 
manifestations  he  had  often  mystified  audi- 
ences with,  showed  the  methods  by  which  the 
tricks  were  performed,  placing  them  on  no 
higher  level  than  the  manipulations  of  the  ma- 
gician. 

There  have  been  some  evidences  of  spirit  in- 


Spiritism  29 

fluence,  or  manifestations,  and  of  materializa- 
tions, that  have  occurred  in  my  presence,  and 
under  my  scrutiny,  that  left  no  doubt  in  my 
mind  that  there  were  no  tricks  of  any  character 
employed;  that  they  were  as  impossible  of  de- 
tection as  were  Dr.  Slade's  manifestations  be- 
fore Zoellner,  Von  Hoffman  and  AYeber ;  and  if 
caused  by  human  powers  or  talent,  must  be  as- 
cribed to  a  fourth  dimension,  or  a  fourth  state 
of  matter. 

Many  of  the  seances  were  of  the  commonplace 
character,  TOO  OBVIOUSLY  FEAUDS ;  but 
there  were  others  that  transcended  all  my  pow- 
ers to  ascribe  them  to  any  other  domain  of  cause 
than  that  of  spirit  made  visible,  audible,  and 
palpable;  one  in  particular  stands  out  so  con- 
spicuously that  it  hushes  all  inclination  to  ques- 
tion its  verity. 

An  acquaintance  whose  mind  was  of  that 
quality  that  he  was  recognized  as  well  equipped 
by  study  and  experience  to  reach  conclusions 
entitled  to  consideration,  was  so  pronounced, 
and  seemingly  so  sincere  in  his  belief  that  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  return,  that  he  regularly 
attended  circles  where  the  spirit  of  his  little 
daughter — who  departed  this  life  in  childhood 


30         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

— manifested  herself  in  a  materialized  form. 
So  solicitous  was  he  that  I  test  the  matter  for 
myself,  that  I  called  at  a  house  where  seances 
were  held,  arriving  something  like  an  hour  be- 
fore the  time  set  for  the  commencement  of  the 
entertainmnt,  so  as  to  carefully  examine  the 
room  and  furniture.  The  meeting-place  was  a 
plainly  furnished  parlor,  in  an  .  old-fashioned 
dwelling,  in  a  locality  that  was  in  its  transition 
state  between  its  former  desirableness  as  a  resi- 
dential section  of  the  better  class,  and  the  be- 
ginning of  a  cheap  tradesman's  and  transient 
boarding  business.  In  the  front  part  of  the 
room  were  two  windows;  on  the  side,  a  door 
leading  to  the  hall,  and  a  door  in  the  rear;  a 
tete  in  the  corner  between  the  door  leading  to 
the  hall  and  the  front  windows;  a  table  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  just  under  the  chandelier; 
about  a  dozen  chairs;  and  across  the  left-hand 
corner,  in  the  rear  part  of  the  room,  a  portiere 
was  stretched,  making  a  triangular  enclosure, 
the  hypotenuse  formed  by  the  drapery.  There 
was  no  opening  of  any  kind  behind  the  portiere ; 
the  carpet  covering  the  floor  was  tacked  down. 
So  far  as  my  careful  scrutiny  enabled  me  to 
determine,  I  was  convinced  that  there  was  noth- 


Spiritism  31 

ing  which  could  be  availed  of  to  f  aciliate  in  the 
commission  of  tricks,  fraud  or  delusion. 

After  an  interval  of  some  twenty  minutes 
people  commenced  to  drop  in,  and  when  nine 
persons  were  assembled,  the  medium  requested 
all  to  be  seated,  the  chairs  having  been  arranged 
in  a  semi-circle  within  a  few  feet  of  the  triangle 
formed  by  the  corner  of  the  room  and  the  cur- 
tain. The  gas  was  turned  to  a  taper,  but  every- 
thing in  and  about  the  room  was  clearly  distin- 
guishable. 

The  medium  seated  herself  on  a  camp-stool 
just  outside  the  curtained-off  space.  She  ex- 
plained that  semi-darkness  was  necessary  inas- 
much as  spirits  had  not  power  to  become  mani- 
fest in  the  light,  and  that  music  was  requisite, 
to  enable  the  spirits  to  gather  strength  for  ma- 
terialization ;  and  to  that  end  all  were  requested 
to  sing  hymns.  "Rock  of  Ages,"  "Nearer,  My 
God,  to  Thee,"  and  other  well  known  hymns 
were  sung,  all  in  a  subdued  tone  awkwardly  ren- 
dered. Soon  a  deep,  stentorian  voice  cried  out, 
"Come  inside !"  This,  the  medium  stated,  was 
the  spirit  of  a  Mr.  Severance,  her  control.  She 
went  behind  this  curtain,  and  in  a  few  moments 
there  appeared  a  globule  of  light  just  where  the 


32        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

portiere  was  drawn  aside.  It  moved  slightly  up 
and  down,  from  side  to  side,  then  forward,  ex- 
panding the  while,  until  it  had  assumed  form 
and  shape,  floating  out  to  the  circle,  and  around, 
until  it  was  cognizable  to  every  one  present ;  the 
human  lineaments  being  clearly  defined  and 
flushed  as  if  with  life. 

Some  one  in  the  circle  inquired,  "Whom  do 
you  wish  to  communicate  with  ?"  and  the  spirit 
answered,  giving  the  name  correctly,  continuing 
to  float,  not  walk,  until  in  front  of  the  person 
whose  name  was  spoken.  The  party,  whose 
name  the  spirit  had  uttered,  asked : 

"What  is  your  name  ?" 

"Nina  Willis !"  was  the  answer. 

"Nina,  your  father  told  me  you  died  when 
you  were  a  child;  now  you  appear  a  young 
woman !" 

"Yes !    We  grow  in  the  spirit  land." 

"What  are  all  those  lights  in  the  quilling  of 
your  gown?"  for  she,  or  this  manifestation  of 
her  spirit,  wore  a  gown  of  a  material  like  cheese- 
cloth, the  bosom  gathered  in  diamond  shapes;  in 
the  center  of  each  glowed  and  shimmered  opa- 
lescent lights,  like  unto  the  flashings  of  the  fire- 


Spiritism  33 

fly,  though  the  lights  were  continuous,  not  in- 
termittent 

"Yes !"  was  spoken,  the  face  downward  bent, 
so  that  the  eyes,  luminous  and  liquid  in  their 
expression,  could  see  them: — "They  are  beauti- 
ful, but  look  at  my  hair,"  the  while  turning  her 
head,  throwing  the  mass  to  the  front,  each 
strand  glistening  and  shimmering  with  lights  as 
though  it  had  liquid  fire  running  through  it. 
The  hair,  of  a  light  color,  and  long,  was  ver- 
itably of  the  human  kind  in  all  its  characteris- 
tics, save  its  iridescent  luminosity. 

"Tell  me,  2una,  if  you  are  from  the  spirit 
world,  how  is  it  you  are  wearing  a  cotton  gown, 
material  of  the  earth?"  the  while  taking  hold 
of  the  long  sleeve  of  the  garment. 

"You  think  you  hold  in  your  hand  a  material 
substance,  and  are  holding  me  by  it  ?" 

"Yes!    I  think  so." 

"I  will  show  you  that  I  am  a  spirit,  that  my 
garment  is  not  material,  for  I  will  disappear 
right  before  your  eyes  and  at  your  feet." 

Slowly,  directly  in  front  of  me,  whilst  I  was 
holding  the  sleeve  of  the  garment,  grasped  tena- 
ciously, and  intently  looking  at  the  form  before 


34:        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

me,  Nina  Willis,  or  this  apparition,  shrunk, 
faded,  vanished,  as  the  breath  disappears  from 
the  mirror,  and  I  held  nothing  in  my  hand. 

Many  such  evidences  of  the  phenomenon  we 
call  spiritism  have  I  seen,  and  been  unable  to 
account  for  on  any  hypothesis  other  than  that 
the  spirits  of  the  departed  can  and  do  reappear 
on  earth,  as  this  most  intimate  and  personal  ex- 
position of  the  materialization  of  Nina  Willis 
so  convincingly  assures. 

Whilst  human  abilities  are  various  and  hu- 
man judgments  unreliable,  no  man's  say-so  may 
be  accepted  as  beyond  question,  in  cases  of  this 
character  especially,  for  no  matter  how  certain 
one  may  be  in  his  opinion,  based  upon  his  knowl- 
edge and  experience,  there  are  many  things 
which  may  be  overlooked  or  be  beyond  his  pow- 
ers of  analysis  or  synthesis,  that  may  vitiate  the 
conclusion  reached;  still  science,  because  of  the 
many  strange  and  marvelous  manifestations  so 
inexplicable  upon  any  theory  other  than  they 
are  what  they  are  professed  to  be,  has  accepted 
the  fact  that  enough  has  been  demonstrated,  in 
the  materializations,  to  warrant  investigation 
and  definition,  so  as  to  formulate,  in  exact 


Spiritism  35 

terms,  the  theory  of  the  visibility  of  the  subtle 
thing  we  term  the  spirit  of  the  departed  human. 

In  the  realms  of  science  we  have  progressed 
sufficiently  far  to  hush  doubts  as  to  things  here- 
tofore supposed  impossible,  so  that  we  no  longer 
question  our  ability  to  see  through  a  brick  wall. 
The  cathode  rays  photograph  and  make  visible 
the  bones  and  organs  of  our  bodies,  whilst  the 
"W  rays  catch  and  display  the  pictures  of  our 
thoughts. 

Wireless  telegraphy  is  now  accepted  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  but  is  it  not  quite  as  mysterious, 
even  though  comprehended  somewhat,  as  Spirit- 
ism? 

\Ve  know  and  understand  some  of  the  laws  by 
means  of  which  we  can  transmit  messages  hun- 
dreds of  miles  without  wire  or  other  mechanical 
channels,  the  fact  being  established,  yet  it  may 
be  stated  that  Spiritism  can  be  as  easily  com- 
prehended, though  not  now  understood,  if  we 
suppose  the  same  laws  applicable  to  spirit  return 
as  to  the  sending  and  receiving  of  wireless  mes- 
sages. 

When  we  speak  the  atmospheric  waves  are 
vibrated  sixteen  thousand  times  a  second;  and 


36        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

in  singing  some  sixty  thousand  times  in  a  sec- 
ond, but  in  sending  sparks  from  an  electric  oscil- 
lator the  vibrations  are  sixty  millions  to  the  sec- 
ond. These  electric  vibrations  pass  through 
earth,  water,  over  mountains,  penetrating  brick 
walls,  overcoming  all  obstructions ;  and  a  simple 
contrivance,  called  a  coherer  or  resonator, 
catches  these  messages,  carried  by  these  electric 
waves,  exactly  as  started,  and  gives  them  up  to 
us.  Why,  then,  should  it  be  considered  incred- 
ible for  spirits  to  manifest  themselves,  coming 
from  spheres  unknown,  passing  through  the 
ether,  and  all  opposings  of  a  material  character, 
becoming  audible,  palpable,  visible  to  us ! 

Ether,  as  a  substance,  is  so  high  in  the  scale 
of  matter,  that  we  cannot  sense  it,  but  Faraday 
enables  us  to  gain  some  comprehension  of  it  in 
his  description  of  the  fourth  state  of  matter: 
"If  we  conceive  a  change  as  far  beyond  vapori- 
zation as  that  is  above  fluidity  we  shall  perhaps 
not  fall  short  of  a  conception  of  radiant  matter. 
As  we  ascend  from  the  solid  to  the  fluid  and 
gaseous  states  physical  properties  diminish  in 
number  and  variety;  therefore,  if  we  could 
think  of  a  matter  as  many  times  removed  from 
radiant  matter  as  the  latter  is  from  solids  we 


Spiritism  37 

would  have  a  substance  almost  as  far  beyond 
our  analytical  powers  as  ether  itself." 

Thus  whilst  the  nature  of  ether  is  not  really 
known,  in  a  measure  we  understand  the  laws 
governing  it,  one  of  these  laws  being  that  ether 
vortex  rings  are  absolute  and  constant,  and  when 
thus  transformed  cannot,  by  any  method  known 
to  man,  be  destroyed.  According  to  Plato,  ether 
signifies  perpetual  motion. 

If  by  Faraday's  fourth  state  of  matter,  or 
Zoellner's  fourth  dimension,  we  are  enabled  to 
attribute  these  phenomena  to  laws  as  fixed  and 
definite  as  those  we  operate  by  in  the  three  di- 
mensions, may  we  not,  when  we  have  acquired  a 
better  knowledge  of  the  fourth  dimension,  be  in 
a  position  to  reach  other  worlds  as  readily  as  we 
now  penetrate  space,  and  use  the  ether  as  a 
medium  by  which  to  communicate  with  other 
planets  ? 

By  means  of  the  oscillator,  electric  waves  are 
projected  that  cannot  be  destroyed,  and  which 
possibly  reach  all  planets;  and  it  may  not  be 
overtaxing  the  imagination  to  suppose  that  with 
an  adequate  resonator  we  may  catch  the  efforts 
at  communication  from  distant  planets  and  ulti- 
mately decipher  them. 


38         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

If  again,  by  the  powers  of  a  fourth  dimen- 
sion, we  may  suspend  the  laws  of  impenetrabil- 
ity, disintegrate  molecules  and  re-incorporate 
them  by  mere  volition,  may  we  not  expect,  at  no 
distant  time,  to  reach  that  state  of  development 
whereby  through  more  adequately  compre- 
hended laws  we  may  communicate  with  the  spir- 
its of  those  once  upon  earth  and  now  dwellers 
in  other  realms  ? 

The  "X"  and  "1ST"  rays  and  wireless  telegra- 
phy are  marvelous,  yet  are  now  accepted  as  mat- 
ters of  course  becaues  of  the  endorsement  of  sci- 
ence, hence  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  it  may  not 
be  long  before  the  scientific  investigations  now 
going  on  may  endorse  the  claims  of  spirit  ma- 
terialization, as  true.  But  apart  from  this,  a 
case  in  point  may  be  cited  from  a  source  most 
men  will  be  willing  to  yield  acquiescence  to,  that 
may  go  very  far  in  some  minds  to  settle  the  be- 
lief as  beyond  questioning,  independent  of  sci- 
ence, that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  humans 
can  return  and  hold  communion  with  us.  "Then 
said  Saul  unto  his  servants,  seek  me  a  woman 
that  hath  a  familiar  spirit,  that  I  may  go  to  her 
and  inquire  of  her.  And  his  servants  said  to 
him,  'Behold,  there  is  a  woman  that  hath  a 


Spiritism  39 

familiar  spirit  at  Endor.'  And  Saul  disguised 
himself,  and  put  on  other  raiments,  and  he  went, 
and  two  men  went  with  him,  and  they  came  to 
the  woman  by  night,  and  he  said,  'I  pray  thee 
divine  unto  me  by  the  familiar  spirit,  and  bring 
me  him  whom  I  shall  name  unto  thee.' 

"Then  said  the  woman,  'Whom  shall  I  bring 
up  unto  thee  ?'  And  he  said,  'Bring  me  up  Sam- 
uel.' " 

The  Bible  makes  it  plain  that  the  belief  in  the 
return  of  departed  spirits  is  very  ancient. 


40         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 


MATEEIALIZATIOK 

Even  among  those  accepting  the  tenets  of 
Spiritism,  materialization  is  doubted  by  many. 
This  is  because  mediums  as  a  rule  do  not  sub- 
mit to  these  tests  which  the  fair-minded  deem 
proper.  The  manifestations  must  be  in  semi- 
darkness  and  the  materialized  not  touched — not 
tested  by  clear  vision  and  feeling.  The  reasons 
given  are: 

"Light  impairs  the  gathering  of  strength  suffi- 
cient to  take  on  form,  and  touch  destroys  the 
accreted  molecules,  and  the  entity  of  the  spirit's 
visibility  is  dissipated." 

This  excuse  may  suffice  for  the  credulous  and 
unthinking ;  but  to  the  serious,  sincere  and  capa- 
ble, it  smacks  too  much  of  sophistry. 

Even  the  capable  and  sincere  who  vouch  for 
the  fact  of  materialization  having  been  demon- 
strated under  their  scrutiny  the  explanation  is 
offered  by  the  doubter  that  the  subject  was  self- 
hypnqtized;  that  he  imagined  seeing  and  hear- 
ing the  things  suggested  by  the  medium. 


Materialization  41 

The  explanation  at  best  is  but  a  vague  plausi- 
bility to  those  who  have  not  witnessed  the  par- 
ticular phenomenon  detailed ;  but  to  the  careful 
investigator,  who  has  safeguarded  against  de- 
lusions, and  who  has  seen  and  heard  the  vari- 
ous evidences  of  spirit  manifestations,  self-de- 
lusion or  hypnotic  suggestion  cannot  be  acceded 
to  as  the  solution  of  the  enigma. 

Were  mediums  above  suspicion — the  general 
run  of  mediums  willing  to  submit  to  reasonable 
tests — then  these  doubts  as  to  materialization 
would  vanish,  and  the  question  be  solved,  either 
as  a  fact  or  a  fiction,  and  a  fraud. 

If  there  has  been  one  honest  materialization 
then  there  can  be  others  that  will  stand  the 
closest  scrutiny. 

That  there  have  been  honest  materializations, 
my  experience  justifies  me  in  believing,  notwith- 
standing the  assertion,  entirely  gratuitous,  that 
I  was  hypnotized,  or  by  auto-suggestion,  how- 
ever that  may  be,  self-deluded. 

The  experience  related  in  the  Chapter  on 
Spiritism,  warrants  my  acceptance  of  materiali- 
zation as  a  fact,  but  another  incident  witnessed 
by  me,  supplements  and  substantiates  this  be- 
lief to  such  a  degree  that  my  faith  is  so  merged 


42         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

into  knowledge  that  it  cannot  be  displaced  as  a 
verity  by  the  incredulity  of  those  lacking  my 
particular  observations. 

At  a  gathering  held  by  the  medium  where  the 
materialization  detailed  took  place,  I  witnessed 
one  quite  as  positive  and  assuring. 

An  elderly  man,  whose  life  had  been  a  sea- 
faring one,  was  a  regular  attendant,  primarily 
to  receive  visits  from  his  little  grandson.  This 
old  man  was  of  rugged  constitution,  hale,  vig- 
orous and  mentally  alert.  His  merriments  and 
his  strong  voice  gave  evidence  that  senility  had 
not  placed  its  stamp  upon  bodily  vigor  or  men- 
tality. 

The  usual  routine  had  been  gone  through  with 
and  several  manifestations  of  materializations 
taken  place,  when  was  seen  another  of  the 
nebulous  formations  at  the  parting  of  the  cur- 
tains, gradually  unfolding  and  enlarging,  until 
a  form  of  a  little  boy  developed,  apparently 
about  seven  years  of  age.  The  old  Captain  rec- 
ognized his  little  grandchild,  and  called  out,  "Is 
that  you  Tommy  ?" 

This  body — characterize  it  any  way  you  may 
— answered,  "Yes,  Grandpa,"  and  started  on 
a  run  the  distance  of  fully  ten  feet  and  when 


Materialization  43 

reaching  his  grandfather,  he  jumped  into  his 
lap  and  outstretched  arms,  the  old  man  patting 
and  hugging  the  lad,  and  kissing  him  with  all 
the  ardor  we  see  displayed  towards  the  actual 
physical  being. 

No  one  present  doubted  that  this  grandchild 
of  the  old  captain  was  veritably  present  in  bod- 
ily substantiality,  and  the  old  man's  voice,  ten- 
derness and  joy,  evidenced  his  absolute  faith  in 
the  actual  presence,  visible  and  palpable,  of  his 
grandchild. 

Were  the  captain  and  the  others  of  the  audi- 
ence hypnotized  by  the  medium,  or  self -deluded 
by  auto-suggestion,  and  none  of  them  conscious 
of  the  change  in  themselves  ? 

It  is  hardly  thinkable.  The  little  fellow,  his 
voice  heard  by  everyone  in  the  circle,  asked, 
"How  is  Mamma  ?"  and  the  captain  answer- 
ing, "She  is  well."  "Give  my  love  to  Mamma, 
and  tell  her  I'm  happy,"  said  the  spirit  boy. 

The  captain  asked  Tommy  if  he  had  learned 
to  ride  his  bicycle  yet?  (The  inference  from 
this  inquiry  being,  that  in  some  former  mate- 
rialization he  had  told  his  grandpa  that  he  was 
trying  to  ride  a  bicycle.)  The  boy  said,  "I'll 
show  you,"  leaping  from  the  lap  of  the  old  gen- 


44         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

tleman,  and  instantly  he  was  seen  circling 
around  with  such  velocity  that  the  many  con- 
centric circles  appeared  as  one  broad  ribbon  of 
hazy  light,  the  speed  gradually  slowing  down, 
and  then  they  beheld  him  standing  in  the 
center  of  the  circle,  where  he  slowly  diminishd 
and  vanished  from  sight. 

On  another  occasion  I  have  seen  several  ma- 
terialized spirit-bodies  at  one  time  in  the  center 
of  the  circle,  though  the  light  wras  so  dim  they 
were  of  vapory  indistinctness,  each  singing, 
some  in  alto,  others  in  soprano,  again  others  in 
tenor  and  base,  evidencing  their  individuality 
in  form  and  voice,  and  dematerializing  in  the 
presence  of  all. 

If  there  were  any  trick  or  delusion  here  where 
the  room  had  been  examined  most  carefully,  and 
absence  of  all  paraphernalia  noted,  then  this 
medium  possessed  a  skill  or  an  art  that  would 
have  won  her  fame  and  fortune  on  a  larger 
stage,  for  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  a  careful 
examination  of  the  room  and  furniture  to  dis- 
close, it  was  simply  out  of  the  question  for  this 
woman  to  have  made  provision  for  the  secreting 
of  so  many  persons  as  assistants  in  her  perform- 
ances. 


Materialization  45 

If  I  was  deluded  or  deceived  in  any  way;  if 
there  were  any  human  agencies  or  tricks  in  these 
manifestations,  then  my  attributes  fail  to  im- 
press me  with  any  sense  of  self-delusion,  sway- 
ing suggestions  or  questions  of  doubt. 

These  were  the  most  perfect  performances  I 
ever  witnessed;  they  were  the  most  marvelous 
expositions  of  legerdemain,  or  they  were  the 
veritable  materialization  of  departed  spirits. 

Until  I  have  as  visible  palpable  and  assuring 
evidences  given  me  that  I  was  a  victim  of  some 
hallucination,  I  must  yield  my  belief  to  that 
assurance  my  sincere  investigation  urges  that  I 
beheld  veritable  materialization  of  the  spirit  of 
the  departed  human. 

If,  therefore,  materialization  is  a  fact,  there 
should  be  means,  methods,  capabilities,  to  prove 
the  matter  beyond  cavil,  and  if  there  are  any 
sincere,  honorable  mediums  holding  the  belief, 
then  they  should  submit  their  manifestation  to 
the  careful  scrutiny  of  the  intelligent  and 
earnest  seeker  for  truth  in  order  that  Spiritism 
may  be  kept  on  the  broad  base  of  actuality,  so 
that  the  testimony  of  many  may  be  the  answer 
to  the  critics  who  claim  that  Spiritism  is  but  the 
thing  that  jcharlatans  conjure  with. 


46        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 


FAITH. 

Faith ! — "The  substance  of  things  hoped  for, 
the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  This  is  more 
rhetorical  and  epigrammatic  than  exact,  for 
faith  is  real; — almost,  in  a  sense,  tangible  and 
visible  in  its  power.  It  is  more  than  hope,  for 
in  it  we  place  a  trust,  a  reliance,  that  is  not 
vague,  indefinite  or  nebulous,  but  realized  by 
our  inner  consciousness,  or  subtler  self,  as  a 
fact. 

The  degree  of  development  of  our  faith  indi- 
cates the  quality  of  our  character  in  its  spiritual 
evolvement: — the  less  defined  the  grosser  our 
nature ;  the  more  dominant,  the  higher  and  truer 
is  our  abstraction  from  the  things  which  con- 
taminate. 

Faith  is  not  a  blind  yielding  of  our  wills  or 
our  intelligence  "to  things  hoped  for — to  things 
not  seen,"  but  an  intelligent  giving  of  our  trust, 
— of  our  soul's  and  mind's  acquiescence,  to 
things  inter  muros, — beyond  the  ken  of  our  hu- 


Faith  47 

man  inspection.  It  is  not  an  evidence  of  things 
not  seen  so  much  as  a  yielding  of  our  belief  in 
the  assurance  given  by  another. 

There  are  several  degrees  and  qualities  of 
faith,  each  expressive  of  the  varying  phases  of 
our  trusts  and  judgments: — A  faith  in  man  or 
woman  that  impels  our  regard:  that  faith  our 
minds  yield  to  statements  made  to  us,  even  when 
we  are  not  drawn  to  the  person  making  them; 
faith  in  a  plan  or  enterprise ;  faith  in  the  means 
employed,  or  that  we  surrender  ourselves  to: 
then  that  sublimest  of  all  our  faiths, — the  sav- 
ing faith. 

All  these  meanings  are  embodied  in  the  word 
Faith : — trust  in  the  concrete ;  to  draw,  to  bind, 
in  its  primitive  signification. 


There  are  three  words,  which  supplement  and 
amplify  each  other,  that  probably  loom  larger 
and  mean  more  to  us  than  any  other  three  words 
in  our  language: — home — love — faith!  These 
we  use  too  perfunctorily,  not  realizing  their 
great  potency  in  the  upbuilding  of  our  charac- 
ter. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  mental  unfolding 
and  the  first  emotions  manifested  in  infancy, 
the  mother  and  babe  are  drawn  and  bound  to 


48        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

each  other  by  love — faith :  the  truest  and  sweet- 
est of  human  endowments.  Again,  this  love — 
faith — assumes  another  form,  that  of  ardor  and 
admiration,  causing  the  binding  of  our  love  and 
faith,  for  better,  for  worse,  until  death  us  do 
part.  Another  phase  is  when  we  trust  ourselves, 
or  our  loved  ones,  to  be  transported  out  of  our 
protection — away  from  our  care.  All  these 
variations  of  faith  appertain  mostly  to  our  re- 
lation with  our  fellow  being,  but  the  faith  relat- 
ing to  the  spiritual  part  of  us — saving  faith — 
sooner  or  later  becomes  the  most  consequential 
fact  in  life,  since  the  life  here,  in  its  highest 
form,  and  the  life  that  is  to  be  hereafter,  are 
predicated  upon  the  degree  or  quality  of  our 
spiritual  or  saving  faith. 

Faith  is  a  necessary  concomitant  of  all  our 
acts.  In  eating,  drinking,  sleeping  or  walking; 
in  our  dealings  with  our  fellowmen,  we  must 
trust  and  rely  upon — have  faith  in — things  we 
have  no  control  over;  for  each  step  we  take, 
each  act,  is  an  evidence  of  our  surrender  to 
someone,  to  something,  since  we  cannot  know 
the  results  to  be  unfolded  by  the  next  instant. . 

We  may  have  faith  in,  or  we  may  doubt, — 
just  as  we  are  inclined  or  choose — concerning 


Faith  49 

the  events,  or  of  the  lives  of  the  personages  por- 
trayed in  the  annals  of  the  past,  for  only  the 
correctness  of  our  reading,  of  our  understand- 
ing, and  of  our  opinions  of  the  world's  history, 
would  be  involved;  but  regarding  that  one 
unique  personage — Christ,  we  are  to  be  held  ac- 
countable for  the  attitude  we  take  concerning 
Him.  We  are  bound,  compelled,  to  accept  Him 
for  just  what  is  historically  stated  as  His  words 
and  acts,  or,  abide  the  consequences  of  our  re- 
jection of  Him  as  the  Saviour;  for  belief — 
faith — in  Him — he  makes  the  prerequisite  for 
our  eternal  life. 

To  yield  acquiescence,  is  faith, — a  faith  that 
has  no  variableness  of  meaning,  but  is,  must  be, 
absolute  trust.  He  must  be  to  us  The  way,  the 
truth  and  the  life/  or — we  condemn  him, — "Be- 
cause ye  have  heard  his  blasphemy,  considering 
himself  equal  with  God." 

This  faith  in  Christ  must  be  a  living — a  soul, 
mind  and  heart — faith ;  not  a  mere  word  to  con- 
vey a  meaning  of  a  state  of  trust ;  for  upon  this 
acceptance  of  Christ  as  the  Messiah,  as  the  one 
in  whom  we  must  believe,  if  we  would  have  life 
eternal — depends  all  that  this  earth-life  signi- 
fies. 


50        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

When  this  saving  faith  is  ours,  not  tenta- 
tively, conditionally,  nebulously,  but  actually, 
then  we  are  transformed,  become  a  new  creature, 
for  we  are  bound — drawn — to  the  eternal  one, 
and  realize  that  now  we  "Shall  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness, but  shall  have  the  light  of  life"  to  guide  us. 

When  we  yield  our  mental  consent  to  all  that 
Christ  claimed  Himself  to  be, — have  faith  in 
Him,  we  gain  a  rest  for  our  perturbed  souls,  the 
spiritual  nature  becomes  illumined,  until  by  this 
faith  He  is  comprehended,  and  we  realize  "That 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  shall  not  perish,  but 
have  eternal  life." 

This  saving  faith  is  a  transposing  power ! 

To  gain  this  faith  it  is  not  requisite  to  know 
science,  philosophy  or  theology,  nor  to  sub- 
scribe to  creed  or  dogma,  or  perform  ceremoni- 
als, only  have  faith ; — trust  implicitly  in  Christ, 
and  strive  to  live  His  doctrines. 

Each  age  adds  something  of  and  to  religion, 
until  this  simple  and  sure  foundation,  love  of 
God  and  faith  in  Christ,  is  too  frequently  sub- 
ordinated to  non-essentials,  the  grotesque  ex- 
crescences of  superstition,  and  the  paraphernalia 
of  ceremonialism.  Dogamtic  religion  so  cramps 
the  intelligent  and  binds  the  ignorant,  that  the 


Faith  51 

tendency  is  to  make  us  afraid  of  God;  instead 
of  trusting  in  Him  as  a  loving  Father, — of  all 
wisdom,  power  and  mercy; — -our  truer,  higher, 
individuality,  our  spirit-nature,  cowers  before 
Him  as  an  austere  Deity. 

Religion  is  losing  its  efficacy  because  faith  is 
not  the  prime  factor,  but  too  frequently  only  an 
ancillary  adjunct  to  an  ism ;  to  the  end,  that  the 
benefits  may  the  better  accrue  for  the  worldly 
good  of  the  persons  who  claim  to  represent  God. 
True  worship  is  to  live  the  life  of  Faith, — of 
trust  in  Christ;  the  spiritual  comprehension  of 
the  imminence  of  God;  and  constant  efforts  to 
be  in  harmony  with  His  immutable  laws. 


52        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 


INTUITION  AND  CONSCIENCE. 

Ealph  Waldo  Trine,  concluding  his  defini- 
tion of  Intuition,  states, — "Some  call  it  the 
voice  of  the  soul ;  some  call  it  the  voice  of  God. 
It  is  our  inner  spiritual  sense."  This  definition 
better  applies  to  Conscience  than  to  Intuition, 
ntuition  is  a  swaying  by  inner  impressions, 
whilst  Conscience  is  the  moral  sense  in  us  de- 
termining the  right  and  wrong  of  our  affections 
and  conduct. 

Intuition  is  as  a  sensitized  plate  receiving  in- 
stantaneous impressions  and  showing  us  the 
subtle  picture  produced  by  thought,  act  or  deed 
in  their  initiatory  or  concluded  state,  the  more 
accurately  to  direct  or  aid  in  the  forming  of  our 
judgments.  It  is  the  picket  on  the  outpost  of 
our  acts  and  contacts,  to  warn  us  of  the  presence 
of  antagonisms,  whilst  Conscience  is  the  judge 
censuring  us  for  our  errors — sins.  One  is  a 
forerunner,  the  other  manifests  its  power  only 
after  the  error  or  sin  has  been  committed.  ^ 
is  auxiliary  to  judgment,  but  ancil- 


Intuition  and  Conscience  53 

lary  to  decision.  Conscience  inflicts  anxiety, 
grief,  sorrow  for  the  error  of  judgment,  for  the 
sin  of  decision.  By  keeping  our  thoughts 
purged  through  concentration  upon  God  and 
His  immutable  laws: — for  thus  the  concupis- 
cences are  relegated  to  innocuousness, — we  get 
into  that  state  of  harmony  with  the  Infinite  that 
will  give  our  minds  that  delicate  sensitization 
which  will  enable  us  to  perceive  antagonisms 
and  help  to  direct  us  to  right  judgments.  Ele- 
vated thought,  pure-mindedness,  act  and  react 
upon  our  natures,  refining  and  spiritualizing  us, 
until  we  are  brought  into  closer  relationship 
with  God,  and  more  and  more  reflect  in  our 
thoughts  and  desires,  God's  will  and  Christ's 
teachings.  These  inner  faculties  or  principles 
are  the  spirit  gauges  or  indicators  which  show 
man's  slower  and  less  accurate  minds,  the  subtle 
influence  unperceivable  by  the  grosser  senses; 
and  if  we  watched  more  closely  these  gauges  or 
indicators  of  the  subtler  spirit  in  us,  relied  less 
upon  our  conceits,  yielded  less  to  our  human 
inclinations,  fewer  errors  of  judgment  would 
result  and  we  would  escape  much  of  the  lash- 
ings Conscience  inflicts  upon  us  for  our  wrong- 
doings. 


54:        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

In  the  feminine  we  see  this  power  of  intui- 
tion implanted  to  a  greater  degree  than  in  the. 
masculine,  and  women  rely  upon  it  rather  than 
upon  reasoning  for  their  judgments.  This  may 
be  attributable  to  their  more  sensitive  character, 
their  more  delicate  natures,  but,  too,  it  is  a  com- 
pensation for  the  lack  of  the  rude  and  enduring 
in  their  physical  make-up. 

The  eternally  right  is  more  accurately  re- 
garded as  the  power  i$  developed  in  us  to  seek 
after  the  things  which  be  of  Heaven  rather  than 
after  the  benefits  of  the  world.  Man  too  long 
has  been  directed  in  his  spiritual  evolvement, 
to  the  lanes  and  byways  rather  than  to  the  high 
road  of  the  soul's  growth ;  the  immaterial  things 
appertaining  to  religion  being  made  more  prom- 
inent and  emphasized  more  than  the  disclosure 
and  cultivation  of  the  God-nature  in  us,  for  it  is 
the  state  of  the  mind,  not  the  definition  of  the- 
ology which  determines  our  relation  to  God. 

The  world,  when  the  masses  were  ignorant, 
relied,  indeed  had  to  rely,  upon  teachers,  and  in 
the  multiplicity  of  teachers  there  was  diversity 
of  doctrines,  until  the  simple  truths  promul- 
gated by  Christ  have  become  obscured  by  the 
pronunciamentos  of  ecclesiasticism. 


Intuition  and  Conscience  55 

These  God  implanted  faculties  are  our  guides, 
our  admonishers,  God's  voice  audible  to  our  in- 
ner consciousness;  and  if  we  yield  ourselves  to 
the  directings  of  these  soul  attributes  we  will 
receive  the  light  of  Heaven  in  our  minds  and 
have  the  power  of  God  to  aid  us  in  our  lives. 


56        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 


PKAYEE. 

Prayer  in  some  form  or  other,  is  used  by  all 
peoples.  It  is  a  natural  instinct  peculiar  to  no 
clime,  race  or  age.  K'o  matter  how  limited  the 
understanding  of,  or  belief  in  a  Deity,  Man 
prays.  He  may  be  indifferent  in  his  worship 
of  God,  yet  when  he  is  forced  to  recognize  his 
limitations,  and  is  face  to  face  with  a  dire  neces- 
^^^sityjliis  inner,  higher  self,  cannot  be  held  in 
check  longer,  and  be  his  language  what  it  may, 
a  supplication  for  help  breaks  from  his  lips. 
Man  must  of  a  necessity  pray,  sometime,  some- 
how !  The  how  is  the  important  thing. 

Some  pray  only  when  keen  distress  topples 
over  conceit  and  presumption,  and  helplessness 
and  incapability  to  contend  longer  with  adverse 
conditions  becomes  evident.  Then  and  only  out 
of  the  fear  born  of  coward  conscience,  a  plea  for 
help  is  offered  up. 

Some  pray  that  God  will  grant  them  special 


Prayer  57 

blessings,  that  they  may  have  from  Him  the 
things  craved,  but  beyond  their  capacity  to 
achieve,  taking  Christ's  words, — "and  all  things 
whatsoever  you  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing, 
ifft  shall  receive,"  as  their  warrant. 

Prayer  is  beneficial  always,  for  it  is  an  uplift 
of  the  soul  to  its  source,  but  is  answered  only 
when  our  prayers  are  in  harmony  with  the  im- 
mutable laws  of  the  Divine  One. 

.  If  Christ's  words  meant  just  according  to  the 
letter — that  "all  things  whatsoever  ye  ask  in 
prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive,"  then,  all  we 
would  have  to  do  would  be  to  ask — believing 
and  all  things  we  craved  would  bo  ours :  and  if 
such  were  answered  the  surer  would  be  our  be- 
lieving. But  out  of  our  experience  can  we  be- 
lieve that  God  grants  the  prayers  we  put  up  to 
Him,  for  this  and  that  specific  thing  ?  Have  we 
so  found  it  to  be  the  case  ?  There  seems  to  be 
a  deeper  meaning  to  Christ's  teachings.  Christ, 
the  day  before,  went  into  the  temple  of  God, 
and  cast  out  all  there  that  sold  and  bought  in  the 
temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money 
changers,  and  the  seats  of  those  that  sold  doves, 
and  he  healed  the  blind  and  the  lame;  and  on 
the  following  morning,  as  he  returned  into  the 


58         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

city,  he  hungered,  and  when  he  saw  a  fig  tree 
and  found  nothing  thereon  but  leaves  only,  he 
said — "Let  no  fruit  grow  on  thee  henceforward 
forever,  and  presently  the  fig  tree  withered 
away.  And  when  the  disciples  saw  it  they  mar- 
veled, saying,  How  soon  is  the  fig  tree  withered 
away."  Jesus  explains  the  lesson  he  thus  im- 
pressed upon  their  minds, — "Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  If  you  have  faith  and  doubt  not,  ye  shall 
not  only  do  this  which  is  done  to  the  fig  tree, 
but  also  if  you  shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  Be 
thou  removed  and  be  thou  cast  into  the  sea,  it 
shall  be  done.  And  all  things  whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive." 
All  power  may  have  been  given  to  the  disciples, 
but  it  may  be  doubted,  if  we  pray,  believing,  we- 
can  accomplish  the  removal  of  mountains  by  our 
faith,  possibly  because  we  do  not  have  faith — do 
not  believe — to  that  absolute  unquestioning  de- 
gree Christ  illustrated. 

It  does  not  seem  possible  for  us  so  to  believe. 
God  is  not  mutable  in  his  resolves,  but  His  laws 
are  immutable,  therefore  are  not  to  be  changed 
by  prayer;  he  does  not  suspend  the  execution 
of  his  resolves,  alter  and  change  his  providential 
schemes  because  we  in  our  ignorance  cannot 


Prayer  59 

know  the  import  of  what  we  ask.  A  fruitless  fig 
tree:  failure  in  its  mission,  it  therefore  must 
wither !  That  seems  to  be  the  lesson  Christ  em- 
phasized. 

If  we  would  take  our  place  in  God's  economy 
we  must  be  fruitful,! — fulfil  our  station  and  do 
our  part  acceptably.  I  We  must  conform  to  God's; 
laws,  or  perish.  / 

For  God  to  answer  all  sorts  of  prayers,  be- 
cause we  ask,  believing,  would  produce  chaos. 
God  makes  his  laws,  and  in  order  to  be  in  har- 
mony with  them — therefore  with  God — we  must 
think,  desire  and  do  according  to  them,  and  our 
prayers  should  be  through  Jesus  for  His  guid- 
ance in  all  our  desires  and  acts,  that  we  may 
only  desire  and  act  according  to  the  will  of  the 
Father,  not  for  our  wills,  \vishes  and  purposes 
to  be  granted  unto  us.  All  our  cares,  needs, 
burdens,  difficulties,  sins,  should  be  carried  to 
God — and  with  faith — believing — these,  though 
they  be  as  mountains,  will  be  cast  into  the  sea 
— for  these  mountains  of  sins  can  be  removed 
by  His  divine  grace  operating  in  our  lives. 

Prayer  so  modifies  the  mind  and  regulates 
the  course  of  our  lives  that  we  are  thereby,  ac- 
cording to  our  faith,  the  better  enabled  to  avoid 


60         Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

making  mistakes  of  a  serious  character,  or  trans- 
gressing His  laws. 

A  man  relying  upon  himself  may  be  said  to 
be  presumptuous,  dispensing  with  the  need  of 
God's  aid,  and  though  he  may  seemingly  pros- 
per the  time  comes  when  he  finds  himself  in  a 
blind  alley,  plump  against  a  blank  wall,  with 
the  alternative  to  retrace  his  steps — or  perish. 

God  never  mends  his  work.  It  is  perfect  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end.  Man's  prayers  can- 
not change  His  will,  but  his  earnest,  sincere 
prayers  tend  to  bring  him  so  in  harmony  with 
God  that  he  knows  His  will  and  the  more  read- 
ily accords  thereto. 

Unless  we  pray  that  we  be  brought  into  har- 
mony with  the  will — the  laws  of  God,  and  yield 
ourselves  to  the  influences  emanating  therefrom 
— that  His  will  be  done, — we  then  suppose  Him 
to  be  a  capricious,  a  mutable  being. 


Love  61 


LOVE. 

With  the  thrills  and  emotions  of  our  human 
loves  we  are  very  well  acquainted,  but  who  of 
us  gives  consideration  to  that 'love  wrhich  is  an 
essence  of  the  soul-nature,  the  love  that  elevates, 
purifies,  soothes  and  blesses  ?  The  love  which 
is  the  outgrowth  of  the  altogether  human,  for 
a  while  allures  and  thralls  the  senses,  but  lacks 
the  intrinsic  values  of  that  love  which  springs 
from  the  soul,  for  it  is  but  of  fungus  growth^ 
and  soon  wilts  under  adverse  conditions.  yThat 
element  of  our  being  which  only  is  entitled  to 
the  appellation — love,  springs  from  the  purest 
sources; — mental  regard,  heart  devotion;  the 
subtler  admiration  of  the  spirit  part  of  us ;  and 
is  lasting  and  progressive. 

Nothing  emanating  from  our  attributes 
a  soiling  character  when  prompted  by  this  love. 

The  babe's  love  for  its. mother,  innate,  indi- 
genous, absolute!  is  the  purest,  truest,  sweetest 
of  all  emotions  or  swayings ;  and  endures  amidst 


62        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

the  divergencies  of  after-years  vicissitudes.  It 
typifies  the  sacredness  of  this  feeling  as  it  should 
always  be  with  us,  the  yearning  for,  the  faith 
in,  the  yielding  to,  the  devotion  of — all  that  is 

that  is  noblest,  truest,  purest — best. 
Love,  in  this  highest  sense,  is  an  evidence  of 
the  divine  nature  in  us,  and  is  the  power  for 
holiness;  linking  us  to  the  source  of  Being; 
drawing  down  from  the  heavens  those  influ- 
ences which  light  up  the  dark  places  and  sweeten 
the  acrid  emanations  of  our  wilfull  and  crude 
iman  natures. 

his  soul-love  is  the  delineation  marking^the 
boundaries  between  the  lower  nature  and  that 
partaking  of  the  angelic.  And  as  we  have  it 
from  its  lowest  form  to  its  highest  best,  are  wre 
graded  in  this  life,  from  the  entirely  human  up 
to  the  God-likenessed.  The  human  love  per  se, 
is  but  a  face  of  man  under  a  mask  of  the  divine, 
the  unattractive  in  itself  garbed  in  the  tempo- 
rary habiliments  of  the  beautiful;  and  like  all 
that  is  not  intrinsic,  sometime  or  other  it  is  dis- 
covered to  be  a  seductive  counterfeit.  But  this 
soul-love  endures,  elevates,  ennobles  under  all 
conditions  and  at  all  and  for  all  times;  wins, 


Love  63 

holds,  and  delights  all  who  are  brought  within 
the  sphere  of  its  charms. 

Suavity  may  be  taken  as  the  outward  evidence 
of  kindliness  of  disposition,  but  unless  pure  love 
is  its  basis,  a  love  that  loves  to  love  for  pure 
love's  sake,  it  will  be  but  as  the  dull,  uncertain 
flaming  of  the  flambeau  in  comparison  with  the 
constant  effulgence  given  forth  by  the  sun. 

After  infancy  but  few  of  us  are  able  to  real- 
ize this  highest,  truest  affection,  because  of  our 
discordant  human  emotions.  In  our  adult-age 
we  perceive  it  nebulously,  in  the  far-off  expanse 
of  our  introspections ;  and  have  some  conception 
of  its  perfecting  character,  of  its  sublimable 
power;  our  grosser  natures,  our  more  selfish- 
selves  dominating,  so  that  we  cannot  lift  our- 
selves out  of  the  slough  of  our  emotions  to  the 
Pisgah  heights  where  the  fulness  of  love  that  is 
true  and  pure,  may  be  known.  'He  that  feareth 
is  not  made  perfect  in  love/  the  Scripture 
teaches  us,  and  we  realize  that  doubting  and 
fearing  takes  from  us  the  human  love  that  we 
accept  as  the  perfect  love,  replacing  it  with  dis- 
trust ;  and  all  that  was  in  us  of  yielding,  shrinks 
away  and  antagonizes,  so  that  that  we  named 


64:        Some  Assurances  of  Immortality 

love,  is  no  more.  But  true  love,  such  as  is  de- 
fined by  Christ,  worketh  no  ill,  endures  and  in- 
creases as  we  approach  the  end  of  life. 

This  true  love  is  so  difficult  of  attainment  by 
poor  humanity,  the  spurious  has  worked  itself 
into  dominance  because  of  the  desire  for  that 
which  we  think  may  soothe  and  be  a  solace ;  and 
even  though  we  realize  our  lack  of  the  higher 
love,  and  the  desirableness  of  it,  yet  not  even 
feeble  or  desultory  efforts  are  made  to  acquire 
the  genuine,  so  that  we  may  be  nearer  to,  and 
made  partakers  of,  that  happiness  which  we 
realize  must  flow  from  real  soul  affection. 

The  fact  that  this  pure  love  is  of  the  infant 
life,  and  that  its  influence  is  perceptible 
through  the  after  years,  may  we  not  have  the 
comforting  assurance  that  in  God's  providence 
He  ordains  for  us  a  state  where  this  love  will 
have  its  fruition,  if  we  but  keep  it  alive  by  that 
faith  which  will  insure  us  eternal  life — true 
love  of  God,  and  confessing  Christ  before  men. 


Trust — Hope  65 


TRUST— HOPE. 

Alone !  O  God !  'tis  now  I  feel 

The  chilling  influence  of  the  world's  rude  blast. 

Its  cold  burthen  is  settling  o'er 

My  withered  hopes,  like  snow  on  faded  flow- 
ers. 

The  rosy  tints  of  the  summer 

Sky,  that  once  o'erhung  my  path  and  diffused 
their 

Dazzling  radiance  over  greater 

Faults  than  mine,  have  vanished,  and  the 
murky  clouds 

Of  winter  shut  out  the  very 

Light  of  Heaven  from  my  anxious  gaze.   Plenty 

And  Ease  have  both  departed,  and 

Penury  mocks  my  utter  desolation. 

The  luxuriant  home's  exchanged 

For  a  lowly  cot ;  the  soft  couch  for  the  straw 

Pallet ;  rich  viands  for  the  coarse 

Food  of  the  poor:  summer  friends  forsake  me, 
and 


66        '  tfoms  Assurances  of  Immortality 

The  unpitying  world  passes 

Me  by,  with  scarcely  a  word  of  sympathy. 

Death  robs  me  of  the  dear  ties  that 

Bound  me  to  this  earth,  and  leaves  me  in  fearful 

Misery.    Covetousness  and  fraud 

Extort  the  last  penny,  and  I  am  doomed  to 

Wander  about  this  world  alone ! 

The  sweet  anticipation  of  better  days 

Are  forever  abandoned.    Faith 

A  delusion!    Love,  the  shadow 

Of  prosperity,  hath  glided  away,  like 

The  sun  that  goes  down  in  the  West. 

Alone  ?    Mistaken  fancy.     No  not  alone ! 

E'en  if  forsaken  by  the  world, 

God  will  never  forsake  His  trusting  creatures. 

Though  my  path  through  life  be  hedged  with 

Thorns,  I'll  not  repine,  but  preserve  a  holy 

And  undying  trust  in  Heaven ! 


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f£B     9    1935 

• 

7J?nTfiniVM7 

JAN    2   1936 

:'•               -   :'   .      : 

R:  CT     3      CB 

DEC  3-0  193* 

DEC  2  3  1333 

IUAU-  -«£  —  4 

taNn/BOB* 

;MOV  1  4  ws 

IIIAI    t   <    jiAr>A 

JUN  1  1  1959 

p 

•vEC'D  LD 

JUrt  2    ;^5g 

27QcV59^ 

^l-.t-,-'b  "JD 

OCT  14  1359 

LD  21-100m-8,'34 

303979 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


